533 victims cremated at Pashupatinath ghats

Over 530 bodies of victims of Nepal’s devastating earthquake have been cremated at the ghats of the Pashupatinath Temple here, an official said on Tuesday.

The 533 victims who were consigned to flames till yesterday include nine children.

Till date, maximum bodies were burnt on pyres, on the day after the quake struck on April 25, Nepal’s worst in over 80 years. 

“82 people were cremated here on the very day the deadly the earthquake hit us. It was a horrible sight. But, the next day, was even worse, when 152 bodies were brought in to the banks of the holy shrine here. Nine children have also have been cremated,” Ritesh Kumar, an official at the temple’s cremation assistance centre, said.

Even nine days after the disaster, bodies are still being pulled out of the rubble of homes and buildings. Five earthquake victims were cremated last night. 

Rows of lit funeral pyres on a full moon night, on the pious Bhashmeshwar Ghat, jolted memories of the fateful day. Besides, several unidentified victims have also been cremated. 

Funeral pyre was also lit up for one Indian national, who had died of an ailment. “The victim’s name is Pramod Mallick, and he was a 42-year-old man hailing from Bihar. But, no he wasn’t a quake victim,” the official said.